New park in Grayslake replaces vacant gas station
A significant donation from private foundation has helped Grayslake pay for a $1 million project that transformed a vacant gas station into a neighborhood park.
As afternoon rush-hour traffic passed by Friday, Mayor Rhett Taylor, village trustees and representatives of the Esper A. Petersen Foundation gathered to dedicate the park at Route 120 and Lake Street. Brick pavers, benches and flowers are part of the passive park.
Taylor touched on the importance of having an attractive neighborhood park instead of an unsightly closed gas station in the Route 120 corridor west of Route 83.
“It is a much nicer entryway into our community,” Taylor said. “It has contributed to our property value enhancement strategy, because the minute it opened, it raises the property values of everything surrounding this (park).”
Grayslake moved toward getting rid of the longtime eyesore in 2014.
About $385,000 in public money was set aside for the $1 million park project in Grayslake's 2014-15 budget. Village officials said the private Petersen Foundation contributed the balance of the money, about $615,000, toward the land purchase, site cleanup, removal of the long-vacant gas station, planning and construction.
Petersen Foundation money has gone to other public uses in Grayslake since the late 1990s. The efforts include $750,000 to help build the aquatic center on Library Lane and a $250,000 donation that helped the Grayslake Heritage Center and Museum open in the old village hall on Hawley Street.
Esper A. Petersen Jr. said his family's deep roots in Grayslake are among the reasons the family foundation provides financial help to the community. His family's business, Nordic Properties, is kitty-corner from where the yet-to-be-named park was celebrated Friday.
“We try to give back,” said Petersen, who grew up on the family farm in Grayslake that became the Prairie Crossing subdivision. “We always learned this from my dad. You try to give back more than you took. Maybe not more than you took, but you give back something. Make a place a better place than you found it.”
Taylor presented Petersen with a “key” to Grayslake toward the end of the ceremony. Petersen's sister, Ann, also was recognized by the mayor.